Earth Gauge: Lighter Lighting
According to the Alliance to Save Energy, the average Illinois household spent about 198 dollars on energy for home lighting in 2007. Because there is less daylight time and indoor lighting is used more frequently, the fall season is a great time to think about increasing energy efficiency at home by replacing traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs).
Viewer Tip: While a CFL bulb is more expensive at the time of purchase, it more than makes up for cost over its lifetime. A traditional 60-watt light bulb has a lifetime of about 750 hours, but a CFL bulb will last for about 6,000 hours! Comparing purchase price, energy costs, and the lifetime of CFL and traditional bulbs shows that a CFL bulb saves approximately 30 dollars over its lifetime. That means that replacing just the four most-used bulbs can save a typical Illinois household about 120 dollars over the lifetime of the bulbs!
Check out Energy Star’s CFL purchasing tips to find a bulb that will work well for your home lighting conditions: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=cfls.pr_tips_cfls.
(Source: The Alliance to Save Energy. “Illinois Energy Costs to Jump This Winter: Energy and Money Saving Tips for Consumers.” www.ase.org/statefacts.)
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